Hello, hello!
Erica here with a very different but fun project today! It’s not a card..! How rebellious is that?? LOL, that feels a lot more rebellious than it really should. Maybe I need to get out more?
Well, I really fancied trying something I’ve never tried before and thought, why not blog about it in case it inspires someone else to try it too?
My idea was to stamp some flowers on these little framed canvases I found at a local shop and paint them as part of a Mother’s Day present for my Mother-In-Law. Mother’s Day fell on the 26th of March (as in today) in the UK this year. It’s nice to make something special for her as without her, I wouldn’t have my sweet, darling husband.
At the risk of becoming a one-trick-pony, I got my beloved Together We Bloom stamp set out and also some Archival Ink as I wanted to use the Kuretake Gansai Tambi 36 pack water colours.
After stamping the second largest bloom on one canvas and the second smallest on another one, I got my colouring supplies ready. I didn’t really know how this was going to come out but thought what the heck, you win some, you loose some. The first layer was a thin one, like with normal water colouring. That tactic didn’t really work that well as the canvas material is quite thick and coated but by going over it several times and being patient, it eventually sank in. The next layer wasn’t making any difference colourwise so I compensated by making the paint very thick to create some contrast. The third layer needed to blend the dark and the light bits together and that was much easier.
When I was happy with the flowers and the leaves, I decided to do the background black. It might seem strange and a harsh choice but black really makes the colours of the flowers pop. This I had to do in several layers to get a nice and even coat but got there in the end. Then it was a time for the boring part: letting it sit and dry. I really am not very good at this part! The temptation to touch it to check if it’s dry is so high.
If you try this yourself, at this stage (once they are dry that is) you can either leave the canvases as they are and put them back in the frame/frame them if they don’t already have one OR coat it with a glossy varnish for a nice shiny finish. I decided to keep mine as they are but might try the varnish next time. Even if it’s just to see what it looks like.
I’d love to hear if you tried this and what you think about it, any tips or hints you might have. Pop it in the comment section below if you do!
Happy crafting and Happy Mother’s Day from Erica
